COURTESY OF LEARNED KINDRED OF CURRIE
Summit Presbyterian Church in Summit will host Pipes of Christmas shows on Dec. 14.
Here is a roundup of major arts events taking place around New Jersey, through Dec. 18.
MUSIC
• This year’s 27th edition of the annual Pipes of Christmas concert — featuring holiday music with traditional Celtic instrumentation, and readings — will take place Dec. 14 at 2 and 7 p.m. at Central Presbyterian Church in Summit, as well as Dec. 13 at 2 p.m. at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. The 2 p.m. show in Summit is sold out.
Performers will include singer Madelyn Monaghan, harpist Rachel Clemente, guitarist Steve Gibb, St. Columcille United Pipes & Drums, and others.
In addition, a stream of highlights will be available through pipesofchristmas.com from Dec. 19 to Dec. 31.
“The consistent appeal of this concert is derived from its ability to tie in the true essence of Christmas,” wrote David Gerald Palladino-Sinclair, reviewing one of last year’s shows for NJArts.net. “Audiences return yearly to experience the ‘power and glory’ of this wondrous season.”
• New Jersey Opera Theater will present “The Christmas Spider” — inspired by a traditional Ukrainian story, with music by Clint Borzoni and a libretto by John de los Santos — Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. at The Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway.
The opera premiered last year in St. Paul, Minnesota. In it, according to promotional material, “a poor woodcutter and his two children have no gifts, barely enough to eat, and are in danger of losing their home to an impatient landlady. The surprise discovery of a large, but gentle arachnid leads to a seemingly miraculous turn of good fortune for the family.”
STEVIE VAN ZANDT
• WhyHunger — co-founded by the late Harry Chapin and radio talk-show host Bill Ayres — will present an all-star 50th anniversary Hungerthon Benefit Concert at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, Dec. 14 at 6 p.m.
Performers will include Stevie Van Zandt and members of his Disciples of Soul band, Sameer Gadhia and Eric Cannata from Young the Giant, Amy Helm, Yola, Jim Babjak and Dennis Diken of The Smithereens, The Dixie Dregs, Garry Tallent, The Jimmy Vivino Band with Mark Barden, Steve Chapin & the Original Harry Chapin Band (featuring Tom Chapin & Jen Chapin), Randy C. Moore, Danny Clinch and others.
Between sets, footage from the films “Harry Chapin: When in Doubt, Do Something” and “Harry Chapin — Cat’s in the Cradle: The Song that Changed Our Lives” will be shown.
Ticket proceeds will benefit WhyHunger (formerly known as World Hunger Year), and food collected on-site will be donated to the Shore-based Fulfill food bank (formerly The FoodBank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties).
• Isaac Mizrahi is best known as a fashion designer, but he is also an actor who has appeared in the Broadway musical “Chicago,” and a singer. Backed by a six-piece band, he will present a cabaret show titled “A Holiday Fruitcake,” Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at The Kasser Theater at Montclair State University.
The show is part of the university’s Peak Performances series, which describes “A Holiday Fruitcake” as “an eclectic mix of holiday classics, unexpected musical choices, and signature wit — blending humor, storytelling, and song.”
JOHN CAVANAUGH
JESSE MALIN
• Jesse Malin will present his first full-length New Jersey concerts since being partially paralyzed from a spinal stroke in 2023, Dec. 12-13 at 7 p.m. at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park.
Malin writes that the Pony has always been “one of my favorite places and my favorite gigs that we do, especially for the holidays. It’s been so long since we’ve played there and so much has happened. I can’t wait to see you there. Please bring a toy for Brookdale Public Radio, 90.5 The NIGHT and Community Karma’s holiday toy drive.’
• The Los Angeles-based indie-folk duo Milk Carton Kids (Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale) will bring their Holiday Tour 2025 to The Outpost in the Burbs at The First Congregational Church in Montclair, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m., with Humbird (singer-songwriter Siri Undlin) opening.
The Milk Carton Kids released a holiday album, Christmas in a Minor Key, last year. It includes their versions of classic songs such as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Silent Night,” “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” and “Coventry Carol.”
• The Del Fuegos “just might be the quintessential American bar band,” declared The Chicago Tribune in 1986. The Boston-based band did release some well-regarded albums and do some heavy touring in the ’80s, but by the end of the decade they had broken up. Frontman Dan Zanes became a successful children’s entertainer; his brother, Warren Zanes, a solo singer-songwriter and a writer whose books include “Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska” (made into a major motion picture this year) and the definitive Tom Petty biography “Petty.”
The Del Fuegos continue to reunite occasionally, and will do so again this year, with the Zanes brothers joined by co-founding bassist Tom Lloyd and drummer Woody Giessmann (who had joined in time to play on the band’s debut album, 1984’s The Longest Day). They will kick off a mini-tour Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. at The Outpost in the Burbs at The First Congregational Church in Warren Zanes’ current hometown, Montclair. Teddy Thompson will open.
(For a chance to win two tickets, send an email with “Fuegos” in the subject line to njartscontest@gmail.com by 10 a.m. Dec. 15.)
New Jersey Ballet will present “The Nutcracker” in Morristown, through Dec. 27.
DANCE
• New Jersey Ballet and The New Jersey Symphony will team up for its annual production of “The Nutcracker” at The Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, Dec. 12 and 19 at 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 13-14, 20-21 and 26-27 at 1 and 6 p.m.; and Dec. 24 at 1 p.m. Constantine Kitsopoulos will conduct the orchestra, except for the Dec. 19-20 shows, which will be conducted by Brent Chancellor.
Here is a roundup of some of the other “Nutcracker” shows scheduled for other New Jersey venues:
Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 13 at 2 and 7 p.m.: “The Nutcracker,” presented by Nimbus Dance at Victoria Theater at NJPAC, Newark.
Dec. 12 at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. and Dec. 13 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.: “The Nutcracker,” presented by Atlantic City Ballet at Stockton Performing Arts Center at Stockton University, Galloway.
Dec. 12 at 7 p.m., Dec. 13 at 1 and 5 p.m. and Dec. 14 at 1 p.m.: “The Nutcracker,” presented by Company of Dance Arts at Count Basie Center for the Arts, Red Bank.
Dec. 13 at 7 p.m.: “The Nutcracker,” presented by Grand Kyiv Ballet at Republic Bank Performing Arts Center, Sewell.
Dec. 13 at 1 and 4 p.m.: “The Nutcracker,” presented by Ballet for Young Audiences at Grunin Center for the Arts at Ocean County College, Toms River.
Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 14 at 2 p.m.: “The Nutcracker,” presented by BalletArts with The Adelphi Orchestra at River Dell High School, Oradell.
Dec. 14 at 5 p.m.: “The Nutcracker,” presented by Atlantic City Ballet at Caesars, Atlantic City.
Dec. 16 at 7 p.m.: “The Nutcracker,” presented by Grand Kyiv Ballet at Rosen Performing Arts Center, Wayne.
Dec. 18-19 at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 20 at 2 and 7 p.m., Dec. 21 at 1 and 5 p.m.: “The Nutcracker,” presented by American Repertory Ballet at State Theatre, New Brunswick.
Chevy Chase with Beverly D’Angelo in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”
FILM
• Chevy Chase will talk about his hit 1989 comedy “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” following a screening of it at Prudential Hall at NJPAC in Newark, Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m.
FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT
• The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey will present “Merry, Merry Mischief: Holiday Classics” at its F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre at Drew University in Madison, Dec. 13 at 11 a.m. The show will include family-friendly stage versions of three stories (The Brothers Grimm’s “The Elves and the Shoemaker,” Bob Hartman’s “The Rabbit’s Gift” and Sir Arthur Conan Doy’s “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle”) and a reading of Clement Clarkson Moore’s poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas.”
OTHER/MULTIMEDIA
• Drummer Lucy Ritter, who has performed with Chappell Roan and in the national touring company of the musical “Jagged Little Pill,” is now based in Los Angeles, but is a Westfield native. She will be featured in the “Spotlight Series” of The Rialto Center for Creativity in Westfield, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m.
According to a press release, she will “reflect on how growing up in Westfield shaped her musical journey, what life is like behind the drum kit on major tours, and how a creative center like the Rialto can inspire the next generation of musicians.”
The cover of Patti Smith’s memoir, “Bread of Angels.”
• As part of her book tour for her memoir “Bread of Angels,” Patti Smith will present a “Songs & Stories” show at The McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, Dec. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
According to the theater’s website, “In conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, poet, and Director of Princeton University’s Program in Journalism, Eliza Griswold, Smith will share passages that chart her journey from her childhood in postwar America to her creative awakening and life as one of rock’s most influential voices.
“The conversation will include an intimate performance of a select few of Patti’s favorite songs with acoustic accompaniment.”
REVIEWS
“Gail M. Boykewich: Illuminations” at Gallery491, Montclair. (Through Dec. 12)
“Indigenous Identities: Here, Now & Always” at Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick. (Through Dec. 21)
“Tom Nussbaum: But Wait, There’s More!” at Montclair Art Museum. (Through Jan. 4)
“Disney’s Frozen” at Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn. (Through Jan. 11)
“Morven Revealed: Untold Stories From New Jersey’s Most Historic Home” at Morven Museum & Garden, Princeton. (Through March 1)
“Salvador Jiménez-Flores: Raíces & Resistencias” at Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton. (Through Aug. 1, 2027)
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